MAC's Believe It Or Not!

Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", January 1988, page 28

I've decided on my New Year's resolution for 1988, at least as far as insulators are concerned. I resolve never again to say "I've seen it all". My latest inspirations for this resolution were some of the interesting items that turned up at the Eastern Regional in Kulpsville this fall. Let's start with the CD 152 Hemingray No.40. I know that I have owned thousands of these, and I have seen thousands more, but with the exception of a few embossing variations (such as Hemingray No.40 on both sides) and colors that range from aqua to yellow green, they have all pretty much looked the same. That is, until I saw the one pictured here.

CD 152 smooth base and extended shirt on the left with the more common version.

It has two rather unique features a smooth base and an extended inner skirt. My good friend Wendell Hunter from Dubois, Pa. (who, by the way, also introduced me to my first clear CD 138 Postal ten years ago when I first visited his home), was kind enough to bring this new flea market find to the show. Keep your eyes open! Even among the so-called common styles, a real jewel turns up every once in a while.

Next, we'll take a look at the big and the small -------- teapots, that is. Mickey and Ellie Dutcher brought their new acquisition, the baby teapot in blackglass, which was a walk-in at one of New York's famous bottle shows. With a little persuasion, Dick Bowman brought along his "regular" sized teapot so I could take a picture of the two of them together.

The teapot on the left is the full-size piece owned by Dick Bowman.
The teapot on the right is the 'baby" teapot recently acquired by Mickey
 and Ellie Dutcher. Both of these teapots reside in the state of New York.

An "old acquaintance" walked into the show and changed hands right before my eyes. I guess it was about 12 years ago at the Washington, Pa. bottle and insulator show that I saw it for the first time. Robert Whippo, Monaca, Pa., had a Fry Glass sombrero, in white milk. As the years passed, I began to wonder if my memory was playing tricks on me. Could it really have been a Fry Glass sombrero? Sanity returned at the Regional as ownership transferred to Claude Wambold, Perkiomenville, Pa., to become part of his well-known collection of Pennsylvania insulators -- a very appropriate resting place for this special jewel.

Take a look for yourself.

One of the rarest of the pieces made by the 
Fry Glass Company -- an opalescent sombrero.

I also had the pleasure of examining the second Blackburn Patent that has turned up. This one still has the original fie wire on it and turned up at the bottom of a bucket of insulators. Needless to say the price was right, and it now belongs to Ronald Rath, Phoenixville, Pa. The two pictures show a front and side view (I'm not sure which one is which). In case you're looking for a listing on this unusual piece, you can find it under CD 127 as a No Name. With the flat sides and holes in the wire groove. I think this is a good candidate for a new CD assignment. More work for Woody!

Let's go north of the border for the last two rarities. First, a familiar embossing on an unusual piece of glass. The mushroom shaped object is clearly embossed M. T. Co., and it reminded me of the "bureau knob" pictured in Figure 3 on page 38 of Milholland. Take a look and see what you think. There is really nothing known about this piece, even whether or not it's an insulator, but it's a great conversation piece.

The knob is embossed M.T.Co. on the side. The pin hole is threadless.

Speaking of M.T.Co., that's what I thought I saw on the bottom of the CD 742 pictured here. A closer look revealed that the real embossing was "D. T. Co.", for Dominion Telephone Company. I thought I was surprised, but Morgan Davis, Toronto, owner of both of these Canadian gems, said my shock couldn't even compare to his when he first picked it up. Nice additions, Morgan.

To the casual observer, the CD 742
appears to be the typical M.T.CO.

The CD 742's bottom reveals it is embossed D.T.CO.

Well, I hope that's enough to convince you to join me in my New Year's resolution. If not, I've got a leftover New Year's Eve noisemaker for the first person who writes to tell me he/she has see all six of these pieces before the Regional. That's all for now.